


The Ashes of Betrayal Burn a Brighter Flame

by lexus_grey



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Clarke demands retribution from Lexa, Clarke lives at Mount Weather, D/s, F/F, Post-Season 2, Spanking, Top!Clarke, light non-sexual bondage, non-sexual whipping, pre-season 3 but Clarke is still Wanheda, sexual spanking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-13
Updated: 2016-03-13
Packaged: 2018-05-26 14:05:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6242344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lexus_grey/pseuds/lexus_grey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clarke goes to Tondc demanding retribution from Lexa. Lexa allows it, and from there, they try to rebuild a broken relationship. See tags for more information.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Ashes of Betrayal Burn a Brighter Flame

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place post season 2 but pre season 3, so obviously ignores 3x07. If you are interested in my thoughts on the fan explosion over 3x07, please visit my livejournal and read the most recent post. Here is a link:  
> http://lexus-grey.livejournal.com/59813.html  
> Obviously the livejournal post contains spoilers for 3x07.

Clarke spent days brooding, going over and over the scenario in her head, trying to understand, but every time she came to the same conclusion: it didn't make sense. She tortured herself, trying to come up with something she'd missed, but there had been nothing. She had entertained every eventuality and planned accordingly. Well, every eventuality except one - Lexa's betrayal of her and her people.

  
After she spent days agonizing over that, she spent days agonizing over what she should do; where to go next. And so she found herself outside of Tondc, what was left of it, with her hand curled tightly around the hilt of her dagger.

  
A sentry tried to stop her from entering the remnants of the burned village, and Clarke drew her knife, her expression resolute. "Let me through," she said, her words tight around clenched teeth.

  
"No."

"I have a right to see the commander," she insisted.

The man started to draw his own weapon when a familiar voice rang out. "Let her in."

Just the sound of Lexa's voice made Clarke's blood boil, and she pushed past the sentry, following the commander into her tent.

When they were alone, Clarke sheathed her weapon, and as Lexa turned to face her, she balled up her fist and let it fly, connecting solidly with Lexa's cheekbone. She saw the commander's eyes widen for the briefest of seconds before she schooled her expression and wiped blood from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand.

"That's the only free shot you get, Clarke," Lexa said dangerously, her teeth slightly bared.

Clarke paid her no respect, and swung again, only to have her fist caught mid-air and twisted painfully. She was quick to react, using her other arm to jab an elbow into Lexa's gut.

Lexa grunted in pain and twisted Clarke's wrist more forcefully, regaining her balance and shoving the other girl away from her, hard enough to send her sprawling on her back in the dirt.

Clarke stayed down, breathing hard and staring up at the tattered roof of the tent, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. "Why did you do it?" she finally asked. "We would have won."

The tears and the words pulled guilt from Lexa's hardened heart even more than the angry punches Clarke had thrown her way. "I couldn't take the chance," she said flatly. "End of story."

"Bullshit," Clarke called her out. "You betrayed me. And my people. We helped you... you never would have gotten your people out of Mount Weather if it wasn't for us, and then the first chance you got, you stabbed us in the back. Why, Lexa?"

Lexa frowned. "You wouldn't understand."

"You're right. I wouldn't. I never would have betrayed you, even to get my people out safely. I wouldn't have betrayed you, or the other Grounders. We would have won, Lexa! What was going through your traitorous fucking head?!"

Lexa sank onto her throne and sighed. "What do you want from me?"

"An apology."

"I'm sorry."

"That's not good enough."

"It's the only words of apology I know."

Clarke shook her head and got to her feet, moving to the far corner of the tent and picking up an item she knew was reserved for interrogating the Grounders' prisoners. The bullwhip coiled tightly in her hands, she walked back to Lexa and simply held the item in front of the commander's face.

Lexa's jaw dropped. It wasn't easy to render her speechless, or to shock her, but Clarke had just managed to do both in the same breath.

They stared at each other for what seemed like forever to both of them before Lexa finally found her voice.

"Are you out of your mind?"

Clarke's sadness reached all the way to her eyes. "You broke my heart."

Lexa didn't know what to say to that - she wasn't used to being around people with hearts to break. "I like you, Clarke," she said quietly. "But my people would lose respect for me if I submitted to such a thing."

Clarke leaned closer, knuckles white as she gripped the rawhide tighter. "This has nothing to do with your people, and I have no intention of letting them witness a moment of it," she whispered.

"You wish to whip me privately?" Lexa asked, raising an eyebrow. "What purpose could that possibly serve?"

"My purpose," Clarke said without explaining further. "Yes or no, Lexa. If you say yes, I will beat the stone out of your heart, and if you say no, you'll never see me again."

Lexa thought of the day they had run from the mutant gorilla, and how Clarke had refused to leave her behind even though she could have died for it; a pang of guilt hit her square in the chest and she sat up straighter on her throne. Instead of answering verbally, she pulled her lips into a tight line and gave an almost imperceptible nod.

Clarke nodded back and set the whip on the table to her left, then reached down to undo the buckle keeping Lexa's cloak closed. When the commander didn't break her fingers, she removed the cloak and stepped back. "Stand up."

An eyebrow raising once more, Lexa slowly got to her feet.

"Turn around."

Another round of antagonizingly slow compliance.

Clarke's hands went to Lexa's waist, fingers dipping under the hem of her shirt, and she swiftly pulled the garment over Lexa's head and off of her arms, tossing it onto the table beside the whip. She was glad Lexa was faced away, because apparently Grounders didn't wear bras, and she could feel the heated tinge to her cheeks. "You're going to let me bind your hands to something."

Lexa's nostrils flared; she bit down on the response she wanted to give and waited a beat before offering, "my throne."

The irony was not lost on Clarke. She glanced around at all of the furs and leather around the tent, finally spotting an area in one corner with a wicker basket full of ropes. She moved over and fished through the basket until she found one long enough for the job, and strode back to Lexa, who hadn't moved an inch. Somehow she still looked regal, even with what was about to happen.

Clarke stepped in front of Lexa, averting her eyes from the warrior's chest, and grabbed one wrist, fiercely wrapping the rope several times around it so the commander couldn't pull her hand out, then repeated the process with the other wrist, looping the free end of the rope around a post on the top of the throne and tying it off.

Lexa could feel every fiber of the scratchy rope as it clung to her skin. She closed her eyes and focused on breathing evenly.

"Try to escape," Clarke directed.

Lexa obliged, though she knew that with the rope wrapped more than once around each wrist separately, she wouldn't be able to get free. She struggled valiantly, for Clarke's benefit, until the sky girl told her to stop.

"Now you're at my mercy, like my people were at the mercy of monsters," Clarke said quietly, then snatched the whip from the table and backed up about five feet. "Do you think those monsters showed a shred of mercy to my people?"

Lexa's expression hardened, though she was facing away from Clarke. "No."

"No," Clarke confirmed. "They didn't. And do you know what your betrayal made me do, Lexa?" She pulled her arm back and snapped the whip forward, slicing a clean line from Lexa's right shoulder down to her left hip.

Lexa gasped quietly at the searing pain, but remained otherwise silent.

"You made me kill children!" Clarke hissed, cracking the whip again. "You are a coward. What kind of commander chooses to make a deal instead of fight? Especially a deal that betrays someone she pretended to care about." Another blow, cutting into the pale flesh of Lexa's back. The blooms of blood that formed soothed her forty-seven vengeful urges, one lash at a time.

Guilt stabbed at Lexa once more when Clarke mentioned having to kill children, and when the blonde said the word 'pretended', she opened her mouth in protest. "I didn't pretend--"

"Shut up," Clarke said darkly, bringing her arm down in a fierce arc, watching the skin split at her command.

Lexa jerked at the force of that blow, biting her lip to shut herself up. She wanted to beg for forgiveness but she couldn't. Clarke didn't want to hear it, and she had never been good at humility, anyway.

"You did pretend," Clarke insisted after a few seconds of silence, slicing the whip again, the tip curling around to Lexa's front.

Lexa sucked in a sharp breath as the whip's tail sliced into her flank, and squeezed her eyes shut tighter. She wished Clarke wasn't so angry, but she knew that the anger was warranted. She had betrayed her, after all. Clarke just didn't understand - she couldn't have taken the risk that her people wouldn't be free at the end of the war. Of course she ended up making it so that Clarke's people weren't free, but that had been of little consequence to her at that moment, and was of little consequence to her now. What was of great consequence to her at all times, however, was Clarke's feelings toward her. And perhaps Clarke's feelings in general.

Clarke swung again, making the tail wrap around the other side. Her brows furrowed at the commander's hiss, and she struck again, harder, in the same place.  
Lexa let out a small cry of pain and surprise, not having expected Clarke to have the precision required to hit her in the same place twice.

When Clarke hit the same spot a third time, her cry was louder. "Clarke," she whispered, not sure exactly what saying her name was supposed to accomplish.

Clarke said nothing as she continued delivering her chosen form of retribution.

Lexa began to think Clarke was never going to stop. Each lash was harder and harder to take, and she was grinding her teeth to keep from making any noise.

Finally Clarke took a break, admiring the blood criss-crossing Lexa's back and dripping down into her pants. "That's twenty lashes," she announced.

Lexa squirmed under the scrutiny, her heart racing. Her back stung like wildfire, and she was actually grateful to be tied up, because her traitorous legs had started to shake a few lashes ago. "Untie me, then," she said after Clarke didn't continue speaking.

"Lexa?" Clarke asked.

"Yes?"

"How many of my people were trapped inside Mount Weather?"

"Forty-seven."

Clarke stood and waited for her message to sink in.

She didn't have to wait long. "Clarke," Lexa breathed, realizing she was meant to take twenty-seven more lashes. "You can't be serious..." There was no way she would be able to take twenty-seven more lashes with dignity.

"Forty-seven," Clarke repeated.

"Give me something to bite, then," Lexa demanded.

Clarke glanced around again and picked up a piece of dirty leather, walking around and forcing it between Lexa's teeth. When she had bitten down, Clarke walked away and resumed the brutal punishment.

By thirty, Lexa was grunting at every strike, sweat slicking her skin and dripping down the sides of her face. By thirty-five, she screamed, and the piece of leather fell from her mouth, failing to muffle the noise.

In less than five seconds, they were surrounded by Grounders. One of them reached up to untie their commander, but Lexa's harsh voice stopped him.

" _No_!" she barked in the Grounder language. " _She will untie me when she is finished! Get out! And do not breathe a word of this to anyone or your lives are forfeit._ "

Shocked, but trained to the core to obey their commander, every single Grounder backed out of the tent with wide eyes.

"What did you say to them?" Clarke asked, surprised that Lexa hadn't let them untie her. Or kill Clarke, maybe.

"I said you will untie me when you are finished," Lexa told her.

Clarke moved back into position and cracked the whip across the commander's lower back. Lexa's groan of pain was satisfying.

By the time Clarke hit forty, tears dripped down Lexa's face, and she couldn't hold it in any longer - she begged. "Please," she exhaled, her voice shaking as much as her knees.

"Did you say something?" Clarke growled, slashing again. "That's forty-one. Six more people you left to die."

Lexa cried out, pulling on her bonds. "Clarke," she begged. "No one can take this many lashes. Stop, please."

Clarke ignored her and sliced the whip again. "That's forty-two. Five more people you left to die."

"I'm sorry, Clarke!" Lexa gasped out. "Stop... please!" She tried to arch away from the excruciating weapon.

"Would you rather I drill into your bone marrow? Like they did to my mom?" Clarke said ruthlessly. She landed three more strikes in rapid succession and watched Lexa break in front of her, sagging in her bonds and sobbing. "That's forty-five," she told the commander. "Two more people you left to die."

Lexa stopped begging and just humiliated herself with her weakness - her tears and her shaking. Two more. She could do it.

Clarke delivered the last two lashes, then tossed the whip aside and moved to Lexa. "Forty-seven," she said close to the commander's ear. "You are now absolved of your sin," she declared bitterly. "Of your betrayal of my people." She reached up and untied the rope from the throne, surprised when Lexa fell to her knees without the support.

Lexa was vaguely aware of someone picking her up and setting her down on soft furs, then she felt the rope being unwound from her chafed wrists. Gentleness... hands rubbing away the tenderness left by the ropes. "Clarke?"

"Don't talk to me yet," Clarke said. "You've been forgiven for the forty-seven people you left to die... but _I_ don't forgive you. For betraying _me_. You ripped my fucking heart out, Lexa, and crushed it in your hands."

"I'm sorry," Lexa whispered as unconsciousness loomed. "I'm so sorry."

When she woke up, Clarke was gone.

\--

Clarke had felt awkward after Lexa passed out, so she gave a message to Nyko and left.

\--

"Heda," Nyko said reverently. "The Sky Princess would like me to inform you that she wishes you to meet her at Mount Weather when you have healed enough to go there on your own."

Lexa was about to protest that she was fine, and could go anywhere she pleased on her own, but when she tried to sit up, she groaned in pain and fell back to the furs.

\--

The next morning, Lexa woke in a panic. Fever swam in her eyes and crawled through her veins, and sweated out her pores. She felt something forced down her throat, something with an awful, bitter taste, and assumed it was Nyko giving her medicine.

\--

It took a week for Lexa to be able to move normally, and of course as soon as she possibly could, she packed a bag and headed away from Tondc, alone. Despite vehement protests from Nyko and several others, she insisted on going alone, her stubbornness matching only her will to survive.

\--

Clarke was starting to think Lexa wasn't coming when she saw a blip on the monitor in front of her. She studied it until it was close enough to transform from a blip to an image, and her heart leapt into her throat when she confirmed that it was indeed Lexa. What was she going to say first? What could she possibly say, after what they had done to each other? Maybe she should just go forward with her plan in silence... she didn't really need to be the one to speak first.

Lexa stood in front of the towering door to Mount Weather, waiting. When she heard the mechanics whir to life, she stepped forward, and when the door was open, she went inside. Clarke was waiting for her in the entryway, and she held her breath when she saw the girl she had come to... like, a lot, over the past few months. The blonde looked wrecked, to put it mildly. Her hair was a mess, and the dark circles under her eyes could have been black holes eating her face. She looked like she hadn't slept in days, and hadn't eaten much, either.

Without speaking, Clarke closed the hatch with the push of a button, and motioned for Lexa to follow her.

The commander followed, also in silence, their boots on the concrete the only sound in the mountain. Click, click, click...

Clarke used the elevator to take them to level five, and led Lexa into the dining room, walking amongst the corpses until she reached the far corner of the room, where the preschoolers had been having their snacks. Their radiation-riddled, bloody bodies littered the floor in front of them, vacant eyes staring their way encased in hollowed-out sockets.

Lexa gasped and lost her strength, leaning on the nearest table to keep from falling to her knees. "I--"

"Don't speak," Clarke said sharply. "Not in their presence." She turned and walked back through the maze of bodies and out of the dining room. She could hear Lexa's footsteps behind her, and once they were in the hallway, she allowed the Grounder to speak.

"I'm sorry," Lexa whispered, her eyes haunted by what she'd seen - what she'd forced Clarke to do. She suddenly gripped Clarke by the lapels of her jacket and said fiercely, "I killed them, not you, do you understand me?"

"I made the choice," Clarke dismissed the sentiment, pushing Lexa away. "I pulled the lever and flooded their little bodies with radiation. I made them choke to death on poison, and burn from the inside out."

"No, Clarke," Lexa insisted. "I did that! All of it, it was me. It is my burden, and you have held it for me." She couldn't take the guilt that was flooding her every sense. She felt it in her heart, heard it ringing in her ears, saw it on Clarke's face. She smelled the death, and tasted the torture in the air. "Return my burden to me, and be free of it," she then said more quietly, trying to find some common ground in Clarke's eyes.

As much as she wanted to be tough, even Clarke had her breaking point, and tears filled her eyes as she stared pleadingly at Lexa. "I don't know how..."

"Close your eyes."

Clarke did.

"Imagine me in the room with you, my hand on yours, pushing it away from the decision you had to make. It was not your hand, but mine, that pulled the lever. You were a pawn, crushed by the selfish cowardice of the queen, and so it is that the queen killed all the children, while the pawn watched in horror."

Clarke did her best to imagine that, and as a tiny bit of relief came, she leaned her forehead against Lexa's. "You think you're a queen?" She had to tease, or the moment would become too fragile, and they both would shatter.

Lexa didn't yet have it in her to smile. "Only in the way that the queen on a chessboard can overtake any of the pieces," she explained.

"Unless the pawn has her tied to her throne," Clarke pressed, needing the interaction to become less serious before she broke.

"And whips her mercilessly," Lexa agreed. "Forty-seven times."

"Forty-seven times," Clarke echoed with a nod. "No more than she deserved."

"Indeed," the commander said with a nod of her own.

Clarke grabbed her by the elbow and spun her around. "Does it still hurt?" she asked, slowly removing Lexa's backpack.

"Sometimes," Lexa answered, undoing her cloak so Clarke could remove that as well.

Clarke dropped the backpack on the floor next to her, then piled the cloak on top of it and reached for Lexa's shirt.

The commander tensed unintentionally, her body remembering what had happened the last time Clarke's fingers slid under her shirt. She gave a small shudder as her shirt was pulled over her head, once again standing vulnerable in front of the Sky Princess. Before she met Clarke, the word 'vulnerable' had not even entered her vocabulary.

A stab of guilt twisted in her heart when Lexa tensed at her touch. She brushed it off and dropped the shirt on top of the cloak, her jaw dropping in silent shock to see the mess of healing wounds she had laid to Lexa's back. She reached out to trace one angry red mark with the tip of her finger, her movements slow and careful, almost tender.

Lexa twitched away from the touch, again unintentionally, and frowned at her lack of control of her reactions. "Sorry," she mumbled.

The guilt hit Clarke even harder when Lexa flinched, and she took her hand away, hanging her head. "We both hurt each other," she said, not quite ready to apologize for her half of it, since she still felt it was a just punishment for what Lexa had done.

"Agreed," Lexa said quietly. "Though you would not have hurt me if I had not hurt you first. You would never have hurt me. I was weak, and stupid for what I did. I should have trusted you."

"Yes," Clarke said. She picked up Lexa's shirt and handed it to her, then stepped away. "We need to put all of the bodies down the trash chute," she continued, her voice changing, taking on a colder aire.

Lexa nodded as she finished pulling on her shirt, and nudged the door open with her hip, steeling herself for the task ahead.

They carried the adults together. It took them the better part of an hour. The children took less time; they could carry one each. By the time they were done, they were both drenched in sweat and breathing hard. Clarke wiped her forehead with her sleeve and sighed, glancing around the now empty room littered with blood stains.

"We'll have to leave it for now," she said, shaking her head. "Go take a shower, I'll make us something to eat."

Lexa raised an eyebrow, but walked off without a word to find a shower.

Clarke moved with utilitarian focus. She knew where everything was in the kitchen by now; she had been staying in Mount Weather for a week since she'd left Tondc. She made some mashed potatoes and roasted chicken, found the least bloody table, and served two plates, then sat down to eat without waiting for Lexa.

Lexa stripped off her clothes once she'd found where to wash herself, and she had to admit that the warm water felt good on her tired and aching body. She undid her braids to wash her hair, and when she was finished and had re-dressed, she re-braided the same strands and returned to the morbid dining room.  
She sat silently across from Clarke and ate her meal, wondering why she had even been invited to stay for dinner. "This is awkward," she finally said abruptly, her fork clattering to the table as she set it down with more force than was necessary.

"Because we're not fighting a war?" Clarke asked, finishing off her chicken and looking up to stare at Lexa.

"No, because you made us dinner and we're eating in silence," Lexa said disdainfully. "I should just leave, if this is how it's going to be."

Clarke stood suddenly, propelling her chair backwards with the motion, and slammed her hands on the table between them. "If you want to leave, leave," she said pointedly.

"I did not say that I wanted to le--"

"Then shut up," Clarke interrupted her, "and finish your dinner."

Lexa stared hard at her, instincts warring inside her head. "I am thirsty."

"Poor baby."

"Fuck you, Clarke."

Clarke snorted and walked away, disappearing into the kitchen and returning with a bottle of wine and two glasses. She poured them out and handed one to Lexa, letting the bottle sit open on the edge of the table.

Lexa sipped the wine, appreciating the finery. "Now you're trying to get me drunk."

"I don't need you drunk," Clarke retorted with a smirk. "You're mine for the taking, even stone-cold sober. Don't forget that I know that."

Lexa tightened her jaw and ground her teeth. "Whatever."

"Don't talk to me like that, you're a guest in my house," Clarke said, raising an eyebrow.

"Your house? You would make this... this _maun kom wamplei_ your home?"

"You find that distasteful?" Clarke asked. "It's a good thing I don't care what you think."

Lexa sat chewing her lip for a few long moments before finally answering. "No. I find it impressive," she said softly, as if she were embarrassed to admit that the idea pleased her.

Clarke grinned and picked up her plate, along with Lexa's as the commander finished her food. "Well in that case... I still don't care what you think," she said, and took the dishes to the kitchen to wash them.

Lexa sighed and leaned back in her chair, staring at the ceiling.

Clarke poked her head out of the kitchen. "Are you really going to sit there and stare at the ceiling while I do the dishes?"

Lexa slowly got to her feet, a curious expression on her face, and just as slowly joined Clarke in the kitchen. "We have... subordinates who do that for us," she explained, taking a clean plate from Clarke's hand and drying it on the offered towel. "I am not accustomed, that's all."

"We had kitchen workers on the Ark that used to do them for us, too. But since I've been on the ground, I've gotten used to doing everything for myself. Used to not relying on anyone." At the last sentence, she looked sideways at Lexa.

"Yes, I get it," Lexa said, on the verge of frustration. "I am very aware that you couldn't rely on me, and of the resulting repercussions. I get it, Clarke. Will you ever stop hating me for it?"

Clarke had the good grace to look sheepish, and ducked her head, washing the last dish and handing it to Lexa. "I don't hate you," she admitted with a sigh. "That's why it's so painful. Because I _don't_ hate you. And I should."

"I am very sorry," Lexa said, turning to face Clarke after she dried the fork and put it away. "You'll never know how much I wished it could have been different."

"But it could have," Clarke insisted. "You were just too much of a coward to find out."

Lexa's soft expression hardened and she growled low in her throat. "Watch yourself, Clarke of the Sky People."

"Or what?" Clarke snapped, her voice rising in an instant, her posture going from calm to heated before Lexa could blink. "What will you do?" She stepped closer, getting in Lexa's personal space.

Lexa took a step back out of sheer surprise, at suddenly having Clarke in her face.

"What will you do?" Clarke repeated, shouting in Lexa's face as she backed her up against the wall. Giving her a little shove in the chest. "What. Will. You. Do?" she asked, shoving Lexa's chest again.

Lexa shoved back, and Clarke lost it.

"Don't you dare put your hands on me without permission!" the blonde screamed in a fit of rage, grabbing a shocked Lexa's wrists and pinning them above her head. "You haven't earned the right to touch me, Lexa," she said more quietly after a few minutes of just holding the commander in place and breathing hard.  
Lexa had never been in a situation quite like it before, and she didn't know what to do. She stared into wild eyes and swallowed carefully, only realizing she was biting her lip when it started to throb. She didn't struggle, hoping that would appease the sky princess.

"Tell me you understand."

Lexa debated whether to answer, and following a brief period of hesitation, she nodded. "I do understand, Clarke."

Clarke leaned closer until her lips barely brushed Lexa's ear. "If you touch me again before I say you've earned the right, I'll punish you," she breathed, her nostrils flaring at the very idea of it.

Lexa couldn't stifle her shudder. Her jaw worked for a few seconds before she could even force herself to speak. When she did, her voice came out shaky, much to her disdain. "How would you punish me?" she whispered, her eyes searching Clarke's, trying to figure out how badly Clarke was going to damage her heart.

Clarke clenched her thighs together at that response, her eyes fluttering closed, and she bit her lip to control herself before she answered. It didn't work. She nearly lost control anyway, pressing her body hard against Lexa's and ducking her head to bite at the commander's neck. "Have you ever had a spanking, Lexa?" she purred, her lips brushing the sensitive ear before them.

Lexa whimpered at the assault on her senses, and shook her head at the question. "I have not." When Clarke paused in her ministrations, Lexa continued. "I actually don't even know what it is."

"Would you like me to tell you?" Clarke was still purring, right next to Lexa's ear.

"Yes," Lexa answered quickly. She hated surprises.

"Well, it's a common punishment for a kid who misbehaves, in my culture," Clarke explained.

"What?" Lexa asked, affronted. She was not a child.

"Yep," Clarke smirked.

"That's ridiculous," Lexa said quietly.

"I haven't even told you what it is yet," Clarke pointed out.

"But you already said it's for a child," Lexa said with a frown.

"Okay." Clarke shrugged. "If you don't want to know..." She backed up a step.

Lexa looked wounded, and watched Clarke start to walk away, a frustration building up inside her until she finally said in a rush, "fine, tell me what it is!"

Clarke grinned to herself and spun back around, moving close to Lexa again, absolutely reveling in the blush coloring the commander's cheeks. "Since you asked so nicely," she teased. "I would sit in one of the dining chairs, and you would lay across my lap. Or, I could have you bend over one of the tables and I stand behind you. I would decide in the moment."

Lexa stood still, listening. She loved the sound of Clarke's voice. One word from that girl could send her entire body spiraling out of control. Sometimes that infuriated her, but right now she was tolerating it.

"Then I would undo your belt and your pants, and pull them down, and your-- do you wear underwear?"

Lexa's cheeks burned, but she kept eye contact with Clarke. "Of course I wear under _garments_ ," she said flippantly. "Who doesn't?"

"I don't," Clarke said, wiggling her eyebrows and stealing a quick kiss to Lexa's cheek. "So I would pull your under _garments_ down, and then when your ass was bare to me, I'd start slapping it with the palm of my hand."

Lexa's jaw hung open slightly. "What?"

"What part of that wasn't clear, Commander?"

"It just doesn't sound like much of a punishment," Lexa admitted.

Clarke couldn't help laughing, the first time she'd done so since the battle for the mountain. "No, I guess to you it wouldn't."

Suddenly Lexa said in a burst of candor, "I would prefer to lay across your lap, if you don't mind." She averted her eyes, embarrassment something that didn't come often to the commander.

"Oh, are you volunteering even though you didn't touch me again without permission?" Clarke asked with a self-satisfied smirk.

Lexa frowned, not liking to be outwitted. "You twist my words."

"So, you're not volunteering?"

"No, I'm not volunteering."

"Too bad," Clarke said. "It could've been fun."

"I thought you said it was a punishment," Lexa protested, her head swimming.

"Fun for me," Clarke specified. "Not as much for you, although some people do really like it, actually. You might have had fun, now that I think about it."

Lexa closed her eyes to ward off her building frustration. "Clarke, it was a long walk, and it's late. As much as I want to hold you and touch you, it is clear to me that you won't allow it, so if I am invited to stay the night, I would like to go to bed, and if not, I need to get started back to Tondc."

Clarke backed off with a nod. "You can stay."

Lexa couldn't stop her noise of disgust, and she found herself under sudden, intense, disapproving scrutiny.

"What?" Clarke asked, raising an eyebrow in challenge.

Lexa debated just forcing past her and leaving, but she decided on honesty, and cast her eyes to the floor. "I can stay, or you want me to stay?" she asked quietly.

"Oh," Clarke said in realization, dropping her own attitude. "I..." If she was completely truthful, she did want Lexa to stay, but she wasn't sure what admitting that would mean.

"Clarke," Lexa said desperately, bringing her eyes back to Clarke's face.

Lexa's pain didn't make her happy anymore, not like this, so Clarke deflated and admitted the truth. "I want you to stay, I do," she said gently.

Lexa grabbed her by the shirt collar and crushed their bodies together, resting her forehead on Clarke's shoulder.

"I said not to touch me without permission," Clarke reminded her, allowing her arms to encircle the commander's waist and rest lightly on her lower back.

Lexa let her hands drop to her sides.

Clarke laughed a little and shook her head. "Nice try."

"I'm so tired, Clarke," Lexa sighed.

"Come on," Clarke said with a nod, separating the two of them and starting to walk out of the kitchen.

Lexa followed her out of the kitchen, dining room, and into the hallway; she picked up her backpack from where Clarke had discarded it earlier and slung it over her shoulder.

Clarke had chosen one of the nicer rooms to make her own - but not one belonging to either of the Wallaces or any of the twisted doctors. She had a sudden idea that sent a thrill through her entire body, and she turned abruptly to face Lexa, leaning in to whisper in the commander's ear. "You... may sleep on the floor, or at the foot of my bed, whichever you choose."

Lexa's jaw dropped and she wondered if Clarke could possibly be serious, but when the sky princess said nothing else, Lexa's body gave a little shudder of unexpected arousal and she turned away quickly to hide the flush in her cheeks. Without a word, she stripped off her cloak, boots, and pants, and slid under the blanket at the foot of the bed, refusing to even look at Clarke.

For her part, Clarke was inexplicably turned on at the compliance to her unreasonable demand. "I have to shower, then I'll be in," she said. There was no way she was getting in that bed without washing off the day's blood and grime.

\--

She washed extra vigorously in an attempt to cleanse herself of the emotions involved in disposing of all the bodies earlier. She kept turning up the heat until the water nearly burned her skin, and scrubbed away the guilt. Except it wouldn't scrub away, not completely... but she'd already known that.

Sparkling clean and feeling refreshed, at least, Clarke realized that Lexa was in bed in a bloody shirt, and frowned. She wrapped a towel around herself after rubbing it over her hair and made her way back to her room. Her breath caught at the way the blanket had moved aside, leaving one of Lexa's legs bare, and she could just barely see the edge of the commander's underwear at the top of her unbelievably perfect thigh.

Biting her lip, Clarke moved to the bureau across the room and got into a pair of silk pajamas - what didn't those Mount Weather bastards have? - and after a brief hesitation, grabbed just a silk pajama top for Lexa, since obviously the commander had already chosen to sleep without pants. "Are you asleep?" she asked. She couldn't tell because Lexa was on her stomach with her head turned away, rested on her folded hands.

"No."

"Good, because I need you to change your shirt."

"Why?"

"Yours is dirty, and covered in blood. My bed was clean before you got in it."

"Should I change the linens, too, Your Majesty?" Lexa snarked, climbing out of bed and shrugging out of her shirt, then into the one Clarke presented her with.

"Sorry, did you want the floor instead?" Clarke asked, taking fresh sheets from the bottom drawer and tossing them at the sarcastic girl. "I was going to change it myself, but since you offered..."

They ended up changing the sheets together, and Clarke found a fresh blanket in the room next door, depositing the dirty laundry there in exchange.  
She came back in and tossed the blanket on the bed, then got in and shut off the light, leaving Lexa to find her way from the middle of the room in the dark.

Lexa stumbled over to the bed and climbed back in, laying across the bottom of it like a pet instead of Heda of the Tree People. She wondered at herself for allowing this treatment, and knew that had it been anyone but Clarke, they would have been headless for even thinking it. But for some reason, ever since she had met the sky princess, Lexa couldn't seem to deny her anything she wanted. Except, of course, when it counted the most, and she had turned her back.

Sighing in disgust at herself and her weakness, Lexa tried to clear her mind and sleep. It was a little difficult with Clarke's feet pressed into her shins. Then into her ankles. Then her knees. Clarke apparently did not stay still while trying to sleep. Finally she'd had enough. "You're kicking me," she announced.

"Sorry," Clarke mumbled and drew her knees up to her chest as she rolled onto her side.

"You could stretch out with no problems if I wasn't sleeping at your feet," Lexa said piquantly.

Clarke ignored her and was asleep within the hour.

Lexa lay awake long into the night, despite how tired she was. Her back hurt some, she was afraid to roll over or she'd fall off the end of the bed, and Clarke was so close to her in a pair of silk pajamas. That trio of things made it very hard to fall asleep. She drifted off just when she knew the sun would be starting to peek over the horizon.

\--

Lexa shot upright in bed, drenched in sweat and screaming.

Clarke yelped awake and scrambled out of bed to stand next to it, laying a hand on Lexa's shoulder and shaking in case she wasn't quite out of the nightmare. "Hey," she said gently.

Lexa gasped for breath, caught in the grips of the nightmare, between sleep and waking. She tried to find her way to Clarke's gentle voice, but tendrils of black smoke swirled around her, pulling her back in, and she was lost to the dream again.

Clarke shook her harder, Lexa's glossy, unfocused gaze telling her the commander wasn't awake yet, and the fear in her eyes was scary. "Lexa!" she said louder, continuing to shake her until with a heaving breath, Lexa's eyes shifted focus to her, and the commander slumped against her, panting.

Clarke's voice was persistent, and she was finally shaken out of the dream, grateful beyond belief to wake to her actual reality, and shed the tortured existence she was trapped in during the nightmare. "Clarke," she sobbed, in a rare moment of genuine sadness that she didn't have to hide from onlookers.

Clarke wrapped her arms around Lexa and stroked her hair, kissing the top of her head. "It was just a nightmare," she promised.

"Are you ever going to forgive me?" Lexa whispered after several minutes of silence between them. "It was the worst mistake of my life."

"I do forgive you," Clarke said after debating for a few quiet moments.

The weight of the world lifted from Lexa's shoulders and she sighed into Clarke's neck. "Thank you."

Clarke nodded. "Let me get you a fresh shirt..."

"Thanks," Lexa said, extricating herself from the other girl's grasp and sitting on the edge of the bed.

Clarke retrieved a clean camisole and climbed back into bed after handing it over, and Lexa changed, tossing the sweat-soaked one on the floor, for lack of a better place to put it.

"Are you messing up my room?" Clarke teased.

"I don't see a clothing receptacle," Lexa replied.

"Clothing receptacle?" Clarke teased further. "It's called a hamper," she informed the Grounder.

"Whatever it's called, there's none in here. Where do you propose I put the shirt?"

"I'm just kidding," Clarke informed her with a grin. "Good night, Lexa."

"You know it's morning, right?"

"Yes but I want to keep sleeping, so 'good morning' wasn't going to happen. Good night..."

"Good night," Lexa said, figuring she was still expected to stay at the foot of the bed since Clarke had not deigned to dictate otherwise. With a small sigh, she laid back down and covered herself with the sheet.

Mercifully, the rest of her sleep was dreamless.

\--

Clarke woke up again mid-afternoon with a lazy stretch and a yawn. When she opened her eyes she found Lexa staring at her. "Mmhey," she murmured sleepily.

"Hey," Lexa replied intently.

"C'mere," Clarke said, motioning her over with one hand as she slipped the sheets off of her legs and scooted backward a little to sit up.

Warily, Lexa got up onto her knees and shuffled closer to Clarke. "What?" she asked.

When Lexa was close enough, Clarke reached out and grabbed her wrist, gently tugging until the commander was laying across her lap... in only a camisole and underwear. Yeah. If she wasn't still sleep addled she could appreciate that fact more.

"What are you doing?" Lexa asked, with less alarm than she thought she should feel. "I didn't touch you without permission, Clarke..."

"I know," Clarke mumbled, rubbing her palm over Lexa's underwear. "I want to spank you anyway, is that okay?" Her movements were slow and sluggish, but her cognition was intact.

"I... guess so," Lexa said, holding her breath as she felt Clarke start to lower her undergarments, exposing her fully. "What do I do?"

"Mmm... nothing," Clarke answered, now rubbing Lexa's bare skin. "Just lay there and enjoy it, or don't."

Lexa folded her hands under her head and rested her cheek on them.

Clarke purred happily and gave a light slap to Lexa's backside, then went back to rubbing.

Lexa jumped slightly, then settled back down, biting her lip. That wasn't unpleasant in the least.

Clarke repeated the slap, then again went back to rubbing.

Lexa couldn't stop a soft groan at the way it felt. It was strange, of course, but actually felt nice. "Why do you punish children this way in your culture?" she had to ask.

"Children don't enjoy it, and it's done much harder as a punishment," Clarke explained, landing another swat, a little sharper this time.

Lexa shifted uncomfortably at the way it made her feel between her legs. "Oh," she said in reply to Clarke's explanation. "Are you punishing me?"

"No," Clarke whispered, spanking Lexa again, then rubbing down to her thighs.

"Then what are you doing?" Lexa asked, her voice quiet and uncertain.

"I'm just... spanking you," Clarke decided, not really sure how else to answer. She delivered several slaps in a row, and at the way Lexa gasped and gripped the sheets, she grinned and kept spanking.

Lexa's eyes flew open wide at the sensations moving through her body, and she moaned before she could think about how Clarke might react to that. "Sorry," she whispered, embarrassed.

"I told you you could enjoy it," Clarke reminded her, continuing the spanking without stopping now. She increased the force until Lexa's skin started to turn pink under her hand. "Do you like that?" she asked, pausing so Lexa could answer.

"I-- yes," Lexa admitted, her face flushing hotly. "You're making me very warm, Clarke..."

"I'm turning you on, you mean?" Clarke asked, now rubbing gently again.

"Is that what the sky people say?" Lexa asked back.

"Mhmm," Clarke confirmed with a nod. "You're turned on, Lexa?" she questioned again.

"Yes," Lexa confessed, blushing darker, afraid it would be unacceptable to Clarke. The last thing she wanted was to upset Clarke again as long as she lived. "I'm sorry..."

"No," Clarke said, feathering her fingertips along the backs of Lexa's thighs. "That's a good thing, Commander. No apologies necessary." She reached down further and dragged Lexa's underwear back into place. "Are you wet?"

Lexa's jaw dropped at the question. "Clarke!" she hissed, squeezing her eyes shut tight.

"Are you?" Clarke pressed, raking her fingernails over Lexa's underwear, enjoying the shiver in the commander.

"It is a possibility," Lexa said, barely audibly.

"If you tell me... I'll touch you a little," Clarke breathed, her voice a seduction.

Lexa's breath hitched and she debated whether to give in or not. It was humiliating to talk like this with someone, especially someone she cared for such a great deal. But it would be the first time Clarke touched her that way, and she wanted it so badly... "Not fair," she complained.

"I know," Clarke agreed, hand sliding up under Lexa's camisole to rub her back.

Lexa decided not to answer. She didn't want to have to be bribed into compliance to get Clarke to touch her. When they touched each other, she wanted it to be because they both wanted it, they both couldn't live without it for another moment. She relaxed her facial features and just breathed quietly.

"Aww," Clarke teased, slapping Lexa's butt and then pulling the commander up to lay next to her, arms loosely around Lexa's neck.

"If you ever do touch me, Clarke," Lexa explained, rubbing their noses gently together, "I want it to be because you can't keep your hands off me. Not because you're trying to win a power struggle... I don't want you to use my need against me. I can't handle that with you."

"Why not?" Clarke asked, playing with Lexa's hair. "What makes me different than other girls?"

"You know what makes you different," Lexa sighed, daring to steal a quick kiss.

"Maybe I'm insecure and want to hear you say it," Clarke said with a shrug.

"Because I care too much about you," Lexa indulged her. "I don't want you to hurt me. You're the only person in this world that can hurt me," she confessed.

"Do you love me?" Clarke asked, trying her best to pretend she didn't really care about the answer.

"Do you love me?" Lexa echoed, not wanting to be the only one vulnerable.

Clarke bit her lip and nodded.

If a nod was good enough for Clarke, hopefully she'd accept the same from Lexa. The commander nodded as well.

"For the record," Clarke whispered, "I wasn't trying to win a power struggle, I was just trying to bribe you to answer because I really wanted to hear you say you were wet... I mean, if you were."

Lexa smiled a little and chewed the inside of her cheek before admitting with a blush, "I was."

Clarke groaned. "So you liked your first spanking, then?"

"Very much so."

"You'd let me do it again sometime?"

"I would."

"And you wouldn't mind if I touched you a little after?"

"You are welcome to touch me any time, Clarke, as long as you really want to."

Clarke nodded and let the moment pass, then sighed. "Guess what we get to do today?"

Lexa rolled onto her back and reached down to pull up her underwear. "Clean the dining room, I presume?"

"Ding ding ding!" Clarke said, trying to be enthusiastic and failing. "I hope they have a shitload of bleach around here."

\--

Fortunately, they did have a shitload of bleach, and other cleaning supplies. Both girls donned a pair of thick latex gloves and spent the entire afternoon bleaching and scrubbing and doing load after load of laundry (yes, the fuckers had a washing machine and dryer) until there was no blood left in the dining room. Then they took their brushes and bleach around the entire complex, cleaning up stains from the few people that had died elsewhere.

They were both drenched in sweat and breathing hard by the time they were done to Clarke's satisfaction, but this time she didn't send Lexa to shower alone. "Shower with me?" she asked instead.

Lexa wiped her forehead for the hundredth time with the back of her forearm and nodded, pulling off her gloves and tossing them into the bucket that had held the acrid bleach. "I can think of nothing better at this moment," she admitted, longing for the cleansing spray of water that she had discovered she could make any temperature she wished. Bathing back in Tondc had been an ice-cold-only affair, unless she took the time to heat buckets full of water over a fire - time she rarely had to waste on things like luxury. But here, one turn of a knob and the water heated up within minutes. It was baffling, like much of the technology inside Mount Weather. Machines to wash your clothes? Ridiculous. But self-heating water? Absolutely wonderful.

"I like the water hot," Clarke informed her guest as they reached one of the bathrooms and she began stripping off her clothes. "Like... almost burning. If you need it cooler, I can find you another bathroom."

"It will be fine," Lexa assured her hostess, stripping out of her clothes as well.

Clarke got in first and adjusted the water, smirking as she felt Lexa's eyes on her. "See something you like?" she couldn't resist spouting the old cliche.

"You know I do," Lexa replied, unashamed as she stepped into the shower after Clarke and closed the glass door behind them. "I haven't seen you without your clothes before. Your body is very beautiful. Your muscles are... sexy." She tried out the sky people's word. It felt a little strange coming off of her tongue, but not bad.

Clarke grinned at her and moved back a little to make room. "Turn around," she said, twirling a finger in the air.

Lexa looked at her for a few seconds before slowly turning around, not sure why Clarke had asked her to.

Clarke purred and stepped closer, pressing her body against Lexa's back and nuzzling into her ear. She rested her hands over Lexa's belly and whispered, "I really like it when you do what I tell you to do... especially when you don't question me first..."

Lexa licked her lips and squirmed against the other girl's body. "You do?" she asked, because she couldn't think of anything else to say. The feel of Clarke's breath on her ear and nipples pressed into her back was all consuming.

"I really, really do," Clarke admitted. "You have no idea how much..."

"You could tell me," Lexa suggested, hesitantly bringing one hand up to stroke her fingers over the back of Clarke's right forearm.

Clarke turned them sideways to the water so Lexa wouldn't get cold, and gently sucked on her earlobe. "When I tell you to do something, no matter what it is, and you do it," she breathed against Lexa's skin, "I get this twisting, wringing sensation low in my abdomen, and then I get wet." She bit Lexa's shoulder. "Really wet."

Lexa thought she was going to stop breathing any second as she listened to Clarke talk, and at the bite to her shoulder coupled with the information Clarke was giving her, she groaned. "Klark," she said in that crisp tone she used when she was angry or out of control.

"Just know that," Clarke continued. "Every time you obey me, just think about what it does to me. Promise?"

"Yes, Clarke," Lexa promised, her eyes closed, mouth softly open.

"If I ask you to do some things for me in the shower, will you obey me?" Clarke asked innocently, rubbing her hands back and forth, stopping them on Lexa's hips.

Lexa was sure she wasn't breathing. She nodded her head. She would do anything for Clarke, and they both knew it.

Clarke gently turned Lexa around to face her, and kissed the commander's cheek. "Wash my hair," she instructed, leaning her head back to sufficiently wet it.

Lexa nodded again and reached for the soap, but Clarke handed her a bottle instead.

"It's called shampoo. It's better for your hair than soap, and it smells better."

Lexa opened it and squeezed some onto her hand. "It smells like apples."

"It smells amazing."

"And it will make your hair smell like apples?" Lexa questioned, setting the bottle down and reaching up to start lathering the shampoo into Clarke's long hair.

"Not entirely, but mostly," Clarke affirmed, enjoying the commander's domestic touch. "That feels so good," she said dreamily.

"I'm glad," Lexa told her, continuing to massage the sky girl's scalp and rub the shampoo all the way down to the tips of her hair.

When Lexa was done, Clarke rinsed her hair, shielding her eyes, and grinned to herself when Lexa reached up to help make sure all the shampoo cleared out. "Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome," Lexa replied. She washed and rinsed her own hair while Clarke watched, and felt quite on display. It wasn't exactly a bad feeling, but it made her nervous because she desperately hoped Clarke liked what she saw.

Clarke picked up the bar of soap and handed it to the commander. "Wash my body," she said quietly. "Don't touch my breasts, my butt, or my pussy."

Lexa blushed hotly and gripped the soap until her nails dug into it. "Are you going to wash those parts?" she asked, starting to rub the soap along Clarke's throat and shoulders.

"Maybe," Clarke said with a smirk, and raised her arms when Lexa moved to wash her sides.

Lexa was able to complete her task with only a little bit of shakiness, and more than a little bit of temptation, but she obeyed, staying to the parts of Clarke's body she was allowed. "You really are beautiful," she whispered as she finished, handing the soap back to Clarke.

"Thank you," Clarke said, kissing Lexa's cheek again, resting their foreheads together. "You are beautiful yourself, Heda."

"Heda?" Lexa almost laughed. "You do not treat me like Heda, Clarke Griffin. You make me sleep at the foot of your bed, help you wash dishes, and attend to your every wish in the shower. I would say you think you are Heda..."

Clarke ran her hands up and down Lexa's biceps, then leaned forward and gently kissed her. "I am Wanheda... but I think I would probably come in my pants if you ever called me Heda... and meant it."

"Klark!" Lexa complained, her cheeks red. "I have not blushed so many times in my life as I have since yesterday."

Clarke grinned. "Well I guess I'm just more well-versed in sex than you are."

"Just because I choose not to be so crass does not mean I am not well-versed in sex."

Clarke viewed that as a challenge, her eyes darkening mischievously. "Say something dirty."

"No."

Clarke growled quietly, hands tightening on Lexa's biceps. "You said you'd obey me."

Lexa sighed. "Do you really want me to say something dirty, or are you just trying to be my Heda?"

"Both?" Clarke said hopefully. "I really want to hear what you'd come up with. I'll die of curiosity now if you don't indulge me."

Lexa looked skeptical.

"Please?"

And the Great Wanheda pouted.

"That is not fair," Lexa sighed. "All right, Clarke."

Clarke's face lit up and she squeezed Lexa's arms with a giddy smile.

Lexa pulled herself together and drew from past experiences, wanting to outdo Clarke in the dirty mouth department. "Klark," she hissed, gritting her teeth. "I would throw you down on your knees, wrap my hand around your throat and choke you while I fuck you from behind with the handle of the whip you used on me."

Clarke gasped, her grip slackening on Lexa's arms.

Encouraged by that reaction, Lexa continued. "When you were almost about to come, I'd pull out and make you suck it clean, then beg me to put it in your ass."

Clarke groaned, her head dropping forward onto Lexa's shoulder. "Okay, stop, you win," she whined, her entire body shivering at Lexa's words and the image it put into her head. "You totally win."

"It is admirable for you to admit defeat," Lexa said with a proud smirk.

"Maybe someday I'll have a dirtier comeback, but for the moment, yes, I admit defeat. Do you want your prize?"

"What's my prize?"

Clarke picked up the bar of soap and started to wash Lexa's body. She ran the soap over all of the safe areas and then lathered her hands and set the soap back down. She reached for Lexa's chest and loved the way the commander held her breath. She gently covered both of Lexa's breasts and rubbed in slow circles, watching the commander's face closely.

Lexa gasped, holding still, not wanting to do anything to make Clarke stop. She bit her lip, eyes fluttering closed, appreciating the attention.

"Lexa," Clarke whispered, giving her a quick kiss, briefly nibbling her bottom lip before pulling back.

"Yes, Clarke?"

Clarke slid her hands to Lexa's waist and rested their foreheads together. "I really do love you, Lexa."

Lexa whimpered, her hands going to Clarke's waist, and she slowly opened her eyes. She found Clarke's staring right into them. "I love you, Clarke," she whispered.

Clarke lathered her hands again and reached between Lexa's legs.

"Oh God," Lexa breathed, eyes closing again.

Clarke pushed a single finger inside her.

Lexa cried out softly in surprise, then groaned and dropped her forehead onto Clarke's shoulder. "Clarke," she whispered reverently.

"I have to make sure you're clean," Clarke whispered back, into Lexa's ear. "Everywhere."

Lexa flushed as she felt Clarke's finger withdraw and trail around to her backside. No lover had ever approached that area. She had done it to others, but never had anyone dared attempt it with her. "Klark," she whined, gently biting the blonde's shoulder.

"Are you saying no?" Clarke asked, lightly scratching her nail back and forth over Lexa's left cheek.

Lexa blushed harder and bit Clarke again, scraping her teeth along the sky girl's collarbone. "I wouldn't say no to you, I just--" She gasped as Clarke's finger penetrated her. Her face was on fire and the sensation was distinctly uncomfortable, though not painful.

Clarke grinned like a wolf and withdrew, washing her hands and enjoying Lexa's bright red face. "I like embarrassing you," she admitted, kissing the commander's pouting lips.

Lexa's jaw dropped, affronted. "That is so mean," she continued to pout.

"Oh come on, Commander... your ass is absolutely perfect. How can you expect a girl to resist?" When Lexa had no answer, she continued. "I also like that you wouldn't say no to me..."

"I wouldn't,” Lexa reiterated. “Would you say no to me?”

“Mhmm, probably,” Clarke laughed, catching Lexa’s mouth in another kiss.

“Bitch,” Lexa teased.

Clarke mock gasped and playfully tapped Lexa’s face with her palm.

Lexa hissed through her teeth, her eyes darkening as she stared at the sky princess. “You take many liberties, Clarke,” she purred.

Clarke licked her lips. “Do you object?”

Lexa’s eyes lit with mischief and she leaned forward to breathe into Clarke’s ear. “No, Heda. Of course not.”

Clarke’s knees buckled and she grabbed Lexa’s waist for support, backing the commander into the shower wall and pinning her there with a low growl. “Don’t fuck with me, Lexa,” she warned, forcing a thigh between Lexa’s legs and thrusting it upward until she got a strangled moan in response.

“I--”

“Shut up.” One hand came up to cover Lexa’s mouth.

Lexa’s breathing picked up speed, her eyes going wide. She let her hands rest at her sides.

“Hold onto the showerhead,” Clarke instructed.

Lexa glanced upward the best she could with Clarke’s hand over her mouth, and raised her arms above her head, wrapping her fingers around the cold metal pipe.

Clarke kept her hand tightly over Lexa’s mouth as she dropped her other hand between their bodies, moving her thigh out of the way and pushing two fingers swiftly inside the commander instead.

Lexa whimpered and bit Clarke’s hand, unintentionally.

Clarke’s eyes narrowed and she slapped Lexa’s face, more than a tap this time. “Let me rephrase,” she said darkly. “Keep your mouth shut.”

Lexa groaned, her thighs clenching around Clarke’s fingers, and she nodded her head in response, tightening her jaw to keep her mouth shut.

Clarke returned her hand where it was, her fingers squeezing Lexa’s jaw this time as her other hand worked faster, pumping in and out at an almost frenzied pace.

Lexa ground her hips repeatedly, pressing down onto Clarke’s fingers until the sky princess issued another harsh command.

“Hold still, Lexa. You’re not in charge... you get what I give you right now, understand?” She removed her hand from Lexa’s mouth. “You can answer.”

Lexa swallowed hard, doing her best to hold her hips still despite how much she wanted to rock into Clarke’s fingers. Breathing ragged, she managed to offer a weak “Yes, Heda...”

Clarke’s own thighs clenched violently at that and she covered Lexa’s mouth once more, pressing the grounder’s head firmly into the wall as she slowed down her other hand, sliding in past her knuckles, holding her fingers deep inside, and then withdrawing at an infuriatingly reticent pace.

Tears of need formed in Lexa’s eyes but she behaved, holding still and keeping her mouth shut. Obeying Clarke gave her a thrill like nothing ever had in her life. She didn’t quite understand why, but she chose not to ruminate on the subject right that moment, and just enjoy the ride.

Clarke rewarded her by increasing the pace again, sliding two fingers in and out, pressing against every spot she could reach, and finally brought her thumb to the commander’s clit, rubbing in slippery circles.

Lexa couldn’t help the way her hips rocked at that first touch to her clitoris. She tried to stop herself but it was useless. It felt too good.

“You’re going to pay for that,” Clarke promised, “but I’m going to let you come first.” She took her hand away from Lexa’s mouth for good this time. “Now... let me hear you...”

Lexa moaned lewdly at the feelings Clarke was giving her, both physically and emotionally. “Thank you,” she panted softly, finding it difficult to get a full breath.

“Hmm?” Clarke asked, rubbing more firmly, faster, squeezing Lexa’s cunt between her thumb and the fingers inside.

“Thank you!” Lexa cried louder, the sensations finally sending her over the edge, pleasure spiraling through her body like liquid fire.

Clarke rode it out with her, stroking and rubbing, and stayed inside until she felt Lexa’s muscles start to relax. When the commander was calm enough to look at her, she smiled, and carefully withdrew her fingers. Then, with a show of strength, she slid an arm under Lexa’s knees and one behind her shoulders, and picked her up. “Get the water,” she said, and when Lexa had turned it off, she carried her out of the bathroom and back to the bedroom.

Lexa’s arms went around Clarke’s neck as she was carried, and she shrieked when Clarke tossed her onto the bed. “Hey!”

Clarke laughed and jumped on after her, and they wrestled around on the bed until Lexa ended up on top of Clarke, kissing her.

“You taste so good,” Lexa said dreamily, rolling off of Clarke to lay facing the ceiling.

“Oh yeah?” Clarke asked, raising an eyebrow. She wound a hand in Lexa’s hair and tugged until the commander got the point and sat up, allowing Clarke to direct her until she was on her hands and knees.

Lexa’s breath caught when Clarke tugged her head down, and her heart started pounding when she realized what the sky girl wanted. “You would let me..?” she asked, her mouth watering in anticipation.

Clarke smirked. Lexa didn’t like the look of it.

“Remember when I said you’d pay for disobeying me?”

Lexa whined.

“You get one lick,” Clarke said triumphantly.

“You have to be fucking kidding me,” Lexa said incredulously. How was she supposed to stop at one?

“Maybe next time you’ll be able to follow directions a little better,” Clarke teased, slowly spreading her legs and pulling Lexa down by the hair.

Lower lip quivering, Lexa ducked her head further and gave a long, slow lick up the length of Clarke’s slit, shuddering at the intimacy of the act and the amazing way Clarke tasted. “Please?”

Clarke pulled her up and wrapped Lexa in her arms. “Later,” she whispered. “You are staying, right?” she then suddenly asked, the alarming thought creeping into her head that Lexa would at some point have to return to Tondc.

Lexa relaxed into Clarke’s arms, resting her head on her lover’s shoulder. “I don’t know for how long,” she admitted. “You wouldn’t consider coming with me?”

“I’m not sure I’m ready to be around other people,” Clarke said with a sigh. “Will you at least visit?”

Lexa’s heart broke a little, for a lot of reasons. “Of course, when I can,” she said quietly. “You’ll be here, alone?”

“I won’t be with anyone but you, if that’s what you mean,” Clarke assured her.

Lexa blushed a little. “Well, I wouldn’t want you to be lonely, but I would be lying if I said the thought of you doing... _that_... with someone else didn’t make me jealous.”

“ _That_?” Clarke teased. “You mean sex?”

“Yes,” Lexa nodded. “And love.”

“It may have been a fucked up road to get us here, Lexa, but now that we’re here I don’t plan on falling in love with anyone else. I hope you’re not either.” She didn’t know grounder customs as far as monogamy.

“It would be impossible,” Lexa told her. “You fill my every thought, Clarke.”

Clarke held her tighter. “I wish you didn’t have to go.”

“I promise to visit every chance I get, and you are always welcome to visit me as well.”

“Can you stay one more night?”

Lexa smirked. “I think there’s something I want in return.”

“You little bitch,” Clarke laughed, running her fingers through Lexa’s hair. “All right. You can eat me out and I get one more night with you. I think that’s fair.”

“That’s an incredibly vulgar way to put it, Clarke,” Lexa said with a frown. “But... I suppose it makes sense in a way, since it is satisfying a hunger.”

Clarke laughed again and kissed her. “You’re hungry for me, Lexa?”

Lexa smirked again and gave a low growl. “Yes, I really, really am... Heda.”

Clarke groaned and flopped onto her back, letting her legs fall open. “You win the world.”

Lexa crawled on top of her and gently kissed her lips. “I don’t want the world, Clarke. I just want you.”


End file.
